Boris Johnson has a chance to reset the government’s response to coronavirus

The prime minister returns to Downing Street less than a month after he spent three nights in intensive care after contracting the coronavirus. Boris Johnson will not be given the opportunity to ease his way back in. Instead he will immediately face major policy decisions over the UK’s exit strategy from the lockdown, and he will need to lead his ministers and wider government through this process. He will have to weigh up how to balance economic pressures against keeping the virus in check, how to work with devolved governments across the UK, and how to make sure that the choices he makes are transparent and maintain public support.

But the prime minister will also return to his job with a sense of perspective. Government is facing one of the biggest trials of any peacetime administration. The pressure has been relentless, but in being forced off the treadmill Johnson has been able to watch – and reflect on what works, and what doesn’t – from the sidelines.   

The prime minister must organise his government to respond to the coronavirus outbreak

Do the existing structures of government meet the logistical pressures which the outbreak has placed on the NHS? In Johnson’s absence, government ministers have faced repeated questions about the difficulties the UK has faced in securing enough Personal Protective Equipment for NHS and care sector staff. The procurement and distribution of tests, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock promising to deliver 100,000 a day by the end of this month, has also been a feature of the daily Downing Street press conferences.

New prime ministers often seek to create new organisations when faced with problems that the existing set-up doesn’t seem to be solving. The early days of Johnson’s premiership were accompanied by rumours of a planned overhaul of Whitehall departments to meet the Conservatives’ plans for ‘levelling up’ the country. Now he has returned, Johnson may feel the time is right for reform. But introducing major changes in the midst of a health crisis would be a big risk. Making big changes may feel like a bold political move, but could easily undermine existing structures and exacerbate problems. There is value in shaking up a system that is clearly not working, but any changes need to be about where best to direct resources, how to support what is working, and how to avoid creating more confusion or unnecessary extra work.

The prime minister needs to know when to delegate – and when he should grip the problem

Johnson’s experience of continuing to work while falling progressively more ill with coronavirus is an acute example of how the job of prime minister can overwhelm. It was only his move into intensive care that saw the prime minister relinquish the reins – in part to Dominic Raab in his deputising role, but also by trusting to his wider cabinet to carry on without him.

The experience, and what went on in his absence, will have taught him a lot about his ministers. Who stepped up? Who worked well together? Who did not? Where does opinion divide and on what issues? The question is how Johnson uses that experience. Can some of his ministers carry more of the burden, or are there areas which require greater prime ministerial grip? Prime ministers find it hard to delegate to others in a crisis, but Johnson needs his ministers working together, not battling over each other’s patch.

The prime minister also needs to be wary of taking on an excessive workload. The coronavirus outbreak is not the only pressing concern in his in-tray, with Brexit talks intensifying. Johnson should take the experience of his enforced absence and signal clearly to the rest of his government who can deputise for him and on what issues.

The prime minister must articulate his government’s plans

Johnson’s return also means the return of the government’s chief communicator. The rotating cast at the daily press conferences, a system which was in place before the PM fell ill, has worked well at times. Different subjects have been led by the key ministers and advisers on those topics and the prominence of officials has worked well, but there have been many missteps in the rush to announce new action by the government.

The prime minister, and his communications team, have a chance to refresh the approach. Johnson, with his mandate to lead and the government’s high trust ratings behind him, will presumably play a leading role. But his absence has given him the chance to identify a small team of ministers who are the government’s most gifted communicators. Some, such as Chancellor Rishi Sunak, have risen to the occasion. Others, however, have not looked so assured.

The prime minister has also promised greater transparency, particularly in discussing the next steps in any easing of lockdown. The decision to send the economy, and the population, into hibernation was underpinned by three-word slogans. The next stage will require a nuanced approach – and the continuing trust of a nation already feeling the strain of the lockdown.

An incoming prime minister can find the job overwhelming. Johnson’s learning curve since becoming prime minister – of how to shape his government, how to adjust to a personal workload, and how to get the machine working – was accelerated as the government responded to an unprecedented crisis. The prime minister now has a chance to resume, to reset and to rethink the way he wants to lead.